Factory Farms and Environmental Injustice

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), also known as factory farms, are major drivers of climate change and other forms of pollution, disproportionately affecting low-income communities and communities of color. The overwhelming majority of farmed animals raised for food in the U.S. are confined on factory farms and fed a diet of genetically engineered corn and soy, grown with toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers that pollute our rivers and groundwater and harm people, pollinators and the climate. Jobs in factory farms and slaughterhouses are associated with some of the highest rates of worker injury and illness.

Raising billions of animals in confined areas also generates massive amounts of toxic manure that pollute our air and water — especially in nearby communities. The waste, which is often stored in giant manure pits and periodically applied to spray fields, can contain pathogens, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which contributes to the rise of antibiotic resistant “superbugs,” and heavy metals. The excessive nitrates and phosphorous in the spray from land application of manure can, and often does, reach neighboring homes and drinking water sources. The odor plumes, which pervade nearby communities, contain respiratory and eye irritants including hydrogen sulfide and ammonia that cause serious health issues, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Despite ample science demonstrating the harmful impact of industrial animal agriculture on climate change, water pollution, air pollution, and public health, the industry has largely been able to avoid even basic federal oversight — at the cost of the health and well-being of those communities living closest to factory farms. Friends of the Earth is fighting to change this by demanding greater oversight of this industry by Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency.